Neera vs Dynaheir

BlackIvory

I currently have a party of

me (Mage)
Minsc
Imoen
Dynaheir
Rassad
Neera

Im toying with getting Branwen for the healer part, plus i heard she is a good NPC
Would you pick neera over Dynaheir? is Dynaheir a good NPC with minsc? or maybe drop Rassad for Branwen?

This is my first time playing BG1, finished BG2 a few times but I only started this one and stopped some time in the past

stygga

I honestly don't like Dynaheir... I've never used her more than a couple game days.. So my vote is Neera, I'm liking her so far, and when you get bored with a "mage" force a wild surge by casting nahal's reckless dweomer! It's fun. It made the gate animation once and I was like OH SHIT but then it was just giving them sparklies lol. Fun so far! Go Neera!

BlackIvory

Yeah i tried that spell twice so far, once it summoned a hored of squirrles, and another time it gave my entire party a sex-change XD

DinsdalePiranha

Neera is a specialist, without any spell school limitations. (albeit with a small chance of... fun things happening)
Dynaheir is also specialist, who can't cast enchantment spells, also known as the best thing in the whole game.

so yeah, stick to Neera.
but considering Minsc and Dynaheir are paired, you kick one out, you lose both. if you're okay with using evil NPCs, get Shar-Teel - she kicks Minsc's ass seriously with a single casting of strength spell.

Scofield

@BlackIvory Are these wild surge effects temporary? While a horde of squirrels seems like something to laugh at, I wouldn't like to have a permanent sex change on the other hand...

BlackIvory

nah im gonna stick with a good party for this once, maybe try an evil one later

wissenschaft

The only female romance in the game without a mod is Neera and she has access to all mage spells while Dynaheir (because of her specialization) can't cast a lot of useful spells. I would go with Neera. Branwen is a good enough cleric for a good party. Rassad stats suck and combined with being a monk makes him one of the worst npcs in the game.

To make Rassad viable you need to:
1) buff his STR and Con with spells/equipment
2) lower his AC with some good bracers
3) Give him a back up magic weapon for him to use when fighting enemies that need magical weapons to hurt them.

If you do all this he will STILL only be decent as a flanker, he shall never be able to be a frontliner in BG1. Monks suck at low level. But as long as you mirco manage him so that hes always attacking an enemy whos attacking someone else then he should be good enough to play with.

Theres a curse belt that sets your STR to 19 but your INT to 6. Give this to Rassad, its perfect for him. The low int won't effect him at all.

If you really want to experience Rassad questline then this will make him viable to use. However, if you don't really care I'd suggest taking someone else like Kivan who can actually do some tanking for you.

BlackIvory

to tell the truth im not loving Rassad that much so far, i'll give him some more time but im not completely against replacing him if what you say is true, and his character doesnt improve

DinsdalePiranha

then, uhh... Coran with strength gloves/spell/belt? maybe Kivan? I don't know the proficiencies of either of them off the top of my head, used 'em both as archers.
or, even better: Yeslick. he's good, he's a fighter/cleric, and kicks more ass then all any other close combat char. especially cos I've just noticed you have exactly zero clerics

wissenschaft

Minsc is for damage dealing, not tanking. Looking at your party, its very squishy. You need a tank. The best tank for a good aligned party is Ajantis w/ Gauntlets of Dexterity and casting protection from evil. If you don't want to use a Lawful Stupid Paladin then give Kivan plate mail. Its all he needs to tank. He won't be the best tank since his con is too low but he should be good enough with his high dex.

BlackIvory

Coran or Kivan sound nice, but that makes it too many ranged, as me and Neera use slings, Imoen a bow, my only melee fighter would be Minsc and probably Branwen if i get her

Edit- @wissenschaft thanks, maybe a paladin tank would be a good idea.

wissenschaft

Kivan has 18/12 STR which is a higher stat then his dex (17) so he is nearly as good at melee as he is with bows. Otherwise, as I said above, take Ajantis for the ultimate good tank.

Mungri

Well Dynahair does have 16 con and 17 int which is good enough to make a strong mage. The only major drawback is that she cant cast greater malison.

DinsdalePiranha

@BlackIvory: Yeslick beats Ajantis... by a large margin. actually, give him gloves of dex, cast strength (lvl 2 wiz spell) on him, then have him cast DUHM, and you'll get a killing machine, with 19-20 str, and similar dex/con. that guys ridiculous... you get him late (cloakwood mines) though, sadly.

BlackIvory

I Kivan an interesting character? thats a big consideration on my part. I read a lot on how Coran is a really good character so im leaning towards him over Kivan so far.... :-/ hard to decide! :P

DinsdalePiranha

iirc he's angsty as f*ck, I didn't like the guy. but I don't tend to roll with good characters, Coran was the only exception, because he's cool as hell. don't worry, if you give a some strength enhancing item, he can roll with your best fighters - very high dex makes him hard to hit.

DrEast

I always turned Dynaheir into a sorceress with level 1 npc's mod, and she's acceptable as that (and it fits in the role, as the witches of Rashemen are supposed to be wilder than their dread enemies the hyper-specialized Red Wizardsof Thay). While that mod doesn't work with EE yet, you could fix her with Shadowkeeper; as an evoker, she's kind of useless, and wild mages are more fun.

BlackIvory

Aliright, i think i'll try losing Dynaheir for Branwen, and Rassad for Coran and see how that goes, thanks guys!

Lichi

Bit is Kagain (20 con) best tank in game? He have 12 dex, but now matter, when you can give him dex gloves. Have Dorn any capasible tank? Thinked party Druid(Avanger), Xan, Rassad
Neera, Dorn and Immoen. But if Rassad is so useless mayby just trade him Kagain to get tank.

DinsdalePiranha

Kagain has 20 con, but that's... not enough. he regenerates 1 hp/minute - at level 4, it would take *an hour* for him to regen back from nearly dead. it's ridiculously slow. a cleric can heal eight times as much with a level 1 spell...

Lichi

Yes, but you can give him con tome and he have 21.

SirBuliwyf

It's possible to keep Minsc and lose Dynaheir by having her run off and solo a basalisk no? The only problem is having her in the first place, I'd have to temporarily drop Neera which I'm not keen to do given the past history of these games and the effect of temp dropping a part member has on relationships.

Kortok

Does Neera fit in with a good party? She's CN so my main concern is that she will start complaining when my rep gets too high.

BlackIvory

no problem. i have a 20 rep and not a word of complaint from her

Kortok

BlackIvory said:

no problem. i have a 20 rep and not a word of complaint from her

Great thanks, my party is set then.

Rhyme

DinsdalePiranha said:

Kagain has 20 con, but that's... not enough. he regenerates 1 hp/minute - at level 4, it would take *an hour* for him to regen back from nearly dead. it's ridiculously slow. a cleric can heal eight times as much with a level 1 spell...

Regen isn't very useful mid-fight. It comes into play when you travel from map to map, or sleep. Every time you get to a new destination, Kagain will have full HP. Every time you sleep, Kagain will have full HP. It's a convenience perk, really.

Senash

I never really liked Dynaheir, plus she is also an invoker, which makes things a bit worse (no charm spells), but if you are a mage yourself, ofc you can easily manage that, so now that I think of it she's not that bad at play. I mean technically, gameplay-wise. But Lawful good... eeeeeew... most boring alignment ever. Minsc is fun though. So basically it depends on you.
But Neera, I honestly have to say, I think she becmane one of the best NPCs in the whole game. Not saying she's the strongest, but I really love her character. I'm thinking about dumping my eternal romacne partner (Viconia) for her...

wissenschaft

Yeah, Dump moody Viconia for sweet Neera. Neera is much easier to get along with.

BlackIvory

I am romancing her now. I think after i finish this run I'll make an evil party run and romance Viconia

Calmar

Dynaheir says things like "Thy called?" or "Whatever thy need".

Then I may think things like "Dyneheir, art thou addled, thou flap-mouthed horn-beast?! Thou art suppos'd to be a learned woman of highest literacy, yet thy grammar sucketh in the worst of ways! Ev'ry dull and muddy-mettled rascal possesseth greater eloquence that thou hast!"

And why doth Dynaheir speak pseudo-Shakespearean, anyway? Shouldn't she talk in pseudo-Eastern European like Minsc?

Thorsson

Dynaheir must die! She's squishy, just set her in melee... Temporarily lose Raasad to recruit, you can pick him up again back at his starting point, or replace him with Coran, which is my plan.